Amplifier station for deep-sea signaling cables



Sept. 13, 1932. H. HUNKEL 1 umnnn snmon FOR DEEP SEA smmuue mamas Filed Dec. 10. 1930 METERS BELOW SEA LEVEL K Fig.4.

HOlSTlggBl-E 4 g .ELECCTBCLF v A H T Patented Sept. 13, 193 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mum 0] (.70LOGNE-IU'LHEIK, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TQ IELTEN &

GUILLELUKE CABLBWEBK ACTm-GESELI JSCHAFT, OF COLOGNE-IULHEH, GER- IANY amn'mn s'ra'rron ron DEEP-SEA smiunnae cums Application fled December 10, 1930, Serial No. 501,424, and in Germany December 18, 1988.

sea signaling cables encounters, owing to the.

wave movements of the surface of the sea, difliculties which can hardly be overcome by the technical means which are available within the limits of expenditure which are imposed. However, since the wave movements of the sea decrease rapidly according to the depth, also in the case of thestrongest amplitude there is a possibility of accommodatmg porting b the amplifier stations on supporting bodies which float under the sea at such depths where they are no longer affected by the wave movements on the surface of the sea. Generally a depth of about 100 metres below the level of the sea shows no appreciable effect with respect to the surface waves. As in the case of greater depths only the general flow of the seais perceptible, the speed of which does not exceed a few millimetres or centimetres per second. Therefore a body which is not too lar is subjected to comparatively small and uniform transverse strains.

The laying of an amplifier station in great =2 water depths or on the bottom of the sea is out of the question in the case of ocean cables owing to the large water pressures which come into question. Moreover the amplifier station must be accessible in a comparatively simple manner from the surface of the sea.

An amplifier. station according .to the invention comprises two parts, viz. a floating supporting body which is stable as regards its floating, which is anchored at a depth of about 100 metres under the level of the sea by means ofv steel hawsers and to which the signalin cable is led directly or through the interme iary of a separate connecting cable from the bottom of the sea and the actual amplifier which is built in a water-tight casing resistant to pressure. Moreover, the station is so arranged that the amplifier can easily be brought up to the surface of the sea and letdown again on to the supporting body vin a reliable manner without it being necessary to interrupt thesignalin operation on the cable. The bringing up 0 the amplifier from time to time is necessary from an operative point of view, as will be explained below.

One form of carrying the invention into effect is illustrated, by way of example, in'

Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying draw- Fig. 3 shows the whole of the amplifier station more or less diagrannnaticalflly.

Referrin to Fig. 1, K is the oating supy which is stable in its floating. It has the form of an inverted, truncated cone, the upper surface of which forms a hollowed-out cone. The supportin body consists of a sheet metal casing m e of a material which is resistant to sea-water and the interior of which is wholly filled with cork or a material of like small specific gravity, being reinforced by means of suitable stays. F are two holes whichlead from the upper to the lower surface of the. supportin bo y and which are intended tOIGOQlVB an guide the connecting. cables between thesignalin cableand the amplifier. 7

Re errin to Fig. 2, V is the casing of the amplifier. ts upper part is cylindrical and the lower part conical, so that it can fit exactly into the conical depression formed in the supporting body. D 1s a dome provided on the said casing, through which the amplifier casing is made accessible. E and Aare the incoming and outgoin cables of the. amplifier. A supporting rame G is connected with the amplifier casing. To the points P and P, there are connected the ends of a wire rope S which, by means of a small float B,

forms a loop which remains vertical in the whichis brought up from the bottom'of the sea, is secured bymeans of a junction sleeve twisting of the cable, rollers R are placed.v

in the loops, which rollers are held at a fixed distance from one another and are weighted by means of a weight Q. The size of the supportingbody K is determined by the required buoyancy. The supporting body has to carry the sea cable in so far as it is taken up from the bottom of the sea, the anchoring hawsers, the connecting cable and the amplifier.

Let us assume that in the case of a water depth of 5,000 metres the water weight of the cable is 30 tons, the water weight of two anchoring hawsers 12 tons, the water weight of the connecting cable 3 tons, the water Weight of the amplifier 4 tons and the water weight of the casing and stays of the supporting body 3 tons. Let us also assume that there is an excess of buoyancy of the supporting body of 2 tons. The useful buoyancy of the floating body must therefore be 54 tons. As the specific gravity of cork is 0.2, the floating body must have a capacity of about 67.5 cu. m. A supporting body of the said shape has this capacity when the dimensions are as follows Upper diameter 6 metres Lower diameter 3 metres Height 6' metres Depth 3 metres 0 The mounting of the amplifier station when the cable is laid does not encounter any fun-,

damental difficulties. After the mounting of the cable and of the connecting cable to the supporting body on board the cable steamer, the supporting body is let down into the water. The steamer lays the cable whilst the other work is done froman auxil- 1ary ship.. First of all the supporting body floats on the surface of the sea. By paying out the anchoring hawsers on both sides and by sufiiciently loading the supporting body by additional weights which are lowered on ropes from the ship and held in position therefrom, the supporting body is pressed down to a water depth ofover 100 metres and 1s anchored. The additional weight is then removed and the amplifier is let down, which amplifier is insertedexactly into the conical depression of the supporting body by the guiding of the leading-in cables.

ody to the bottom of the sea. The

The indication of the locality of the amplifier station at the surface of the sea by means of buoys which are secured to the station is unsuitable, as in this way impart forces, which are produced by the wave movement of the sea surface, are transmitted to the station. For this. reason a plurality of separately anchored buoys are laid out in the neighborhood of the station. The? serve not only as an indication of the loca ity of the station but also asan auxiliary means to keep the ship exactly in position when operations have to be effected at the station.

can then be effected by means of a searching anchor or by means of a mine searching device quickly and reliably in a known manner. However, also in the case when the buoys are made loose and driven away by great storms, the station can easilybe found by means of searching loops hangin down far below which are dragged along y two ships at right angles to the direction of the cable. In this case the locality may be known only within oneor more square sea miles. Use may also be made of echo soundings. 4

The station havingbeen found, the ship keeps in position above it approximately vertically. The rope loop S is gripped by means of a-gripping anchorand the amplifier 1s pulled up.

The construction of amplifier station of deep-sea signaling cable hereinbefore described is determined in the first instance by the electrical conditions of operation of the amplifier. Accumulatorsor dry cells are used as sources of current. There are dry elements which, with an intermittent supply of current of not more than amperes, give an output of 100 ampere-hours. For the heating of the thermionic tubes so many cells The finding of the loop S of the amplifier Y are connected in parallel with one another life of the cells in view of their capacity can be maintained for about 5,000 hours of operation. In practice, however, such a long life Y is not attained. For this reason a pluralit of groups of spare cells are provided, whic are switched on one after the other as required by means of a minimum relay. In this case use is preferably made of cells in which the electrolyte is automatically filled by means of a minimum relay. Similar arrangements are provided for the anode batteries and for the insertion of substitute thermionic tubes. In this way it is possible to operate the amplifier station for several years without attention, assuming that the opera tion lasts 4-6 hours per day and that the switching on'and switching off of the amplifiers is effected by means of th.. signaling current. But also inthe case when continuous operation o the amplifiers is necessary,

a bod which the deep-sea signaling cable is secured,

it is possible to maintain a minimum period of operation of at least one year without at tention, since sufiicient space and buoyancy are available for the spare batteries. The exchanging of the cells and tubes may be effected from on board any large freight steamer in a short time and without interrupting operations.

What I claim is 1. An amplifier station for deep-sea signaling cables comprising in combination with the signaling cable, an unsinkable supporting body, to which the said cable is led from the deep sea, means for anchoring the said body at aefioating water depth wherethere are I10 wave movements 01 only weak wave movements, an amplifier, a water-tight and pressure-resistant casing freely mounted on the said supporting body and containing the said amplifier and means electrically conriecting the signaling cable with the amplifier, the said means being such as to allow the casing containing 'the amplifier to be lifted off the supporting body and be brought to the surface of the sea, without the electrical connection between the signaling cable and the amplifier being interrupted.

2. An amplifier station for deep-sea sige naling cables as claimed inclaim 1, in which the upper surface of the supporting body is a hollowed-out cone and the lower part of.

the amplifier casing is conical and fits in the said hollowed-out cone in the supporting 3. An amplifier station for deep-sea signaling cables'as claimed in claim 1, having a junction sleeve on the supporting body to in combination with two flexible cables in the form of tensioned loops hanging down into the water, one end of each of them being connected to the said junction sleeve and the other end to the amplifier! 4. An amplifier station for deep-sea signaling cables as claimed in claim 1', having a junction sleeve on the supporting'body to which the deep-sea signaling cable is secured, in combination with two flexible cables in the form of tensioned loops hanging down into the water. one end of each of them being I connected to the said junction sleeve and the other end to the amplifier, and 'in further combination with rollers placed in the loops at a fixed distance from one,another and with weights for weighting the rollers.

5. An amplifier station for deep-sea signaling cables as claimed in claim 1, having a junction sleeve on thesupporting body. to which the deep-sea signaling cable is secured, in combination-with two flexible cables in the form of tensioned loops hanging down into the water, one end of each of them being connected to the said junction sleeve and the I other end to the amplifier, and means in the other end to the amplifier, and in further combination with rollers placed in the loops at a fixed distance from one another and with weights for weighting the rollers, and means in t e sup rting body for guiding the connections o the loops to the amplifier.

7. An amplifier station for deep-sea signalin cables as claimed inclaim 1, in combinatlon with a wire rope for supportin the amplifier, the said wire ro forming aloop, in combination with a floatmg body for maintaining the. said loop and amplifier in a vertical position.

8. An amplifier station for deep-sea signalin cables as claimed in claim 1, in combination with a supporting frame to which the casing of the amplifier is secured and in further combination with a wire r0 0 secured to the said supporting frame and orming a loop and with a floating bodyfor maintaming the said 100 in a vertical position.

9. An-ampli er station for deep-sea si naling cables as claimed in claim 1, in Whic 1 the sup orting body consists of a reinforced hollow dy made of sea-water resisting material, the said hollow body. containing a light material such as cork.

In testimony whereof I have. signed my name to this specification.

' HERMANN HUNKEL i no 

